Friday, January 2, 2009

A Mr. Black story

A nice comment on yesterday's post reminded me of a funny story. When I first started trapping ferals to be fixed, I had one fellow I called Mr. Black, a dignified black (obviously) sorta-long-hair cat. I'd never set a trap before, so like a dummy, I put it on the grass in a spot where ferals regularly walk through. My yard is pretty uneven, but I tried to get the trap in a level spot. Bait with Stinky Meat, hide in the house, watch for nibblers.

Mr. Black came along, sniffed the goodies in the trap, and looked at the entrance but did not go into it (he was no fool). Instead, he pushed & pulled the trap around until it was in one of the many dips in my yard, tipped it over, then lay down beside it & hooked a paw between the bars to scoop out every bit of that Stinky Meat! I watched this whole process in awe of his brilliance.

When I came out (smothering laughter) to reset the trap somewhere less "tippy," Mr. Black just stood up, gave me a smug look, and strolled off. He was quite pleased with himself...and rightly so!